Da xióngmāo vs Colton's Milkvetch

Ailuropoda melanoleuca compared with Astragalus coltonii

Key Differences

Da xióngmāo is Vulnerable while Colton's Milkvetch is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Da xióngmāo	Colton's Milkvetch
Kingdom	Animalia (动物界)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索动物门)	Magnoliophyta (木兰植物门)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳動物)	Magnoliopsida (木兰纲)
Order	Carnivora (食肉目)	Fabales (豆目)
Family	Ursidae (Bears)	Fabaceae
Genus	Ailuropoda (Giant Pandas)	Astragalus
Species	Ailuropoda melanoleuca	Astragalus coltonii

Conservation Status

Da xióngmāo

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~1.9K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Colton's Milkvetch

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Da xióngmāo	Colton's Milkvetch
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	20 years	—
Average Length	1.5 m	—
Average Weight	100.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Da xióngmāo

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in China. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Colton's Milkvetch

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Da xióngmāo

大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）是中国特有的濒危动物，以其黑白相间的体色和几乎完全依赖竹子的食性而闻名于世。该物种保护状态为易危（VU），是国际野生动物保护的旗舰物种，其种群数量近年来有所回升。

Colton's Milkvetch

Astragalus coltonii, Colton's milkvetch, is a perennial legume in the family Fabaceae assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. The genus Astragalus is the largest genus of flowering plants globally, with over 3,000 species distributed primarily in temperate and arid regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Astragalus coltonii inhabits diverse terrestrial environments, typically including semi-arid shrublands, rocky soils, and open desert margins where competition from taller vegetation is limited. Like other milkvetches, this species likely forms root associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, enabling it to colonise nutrient-poor substrates and contribute to soil fertility improvement in its habitat. The pinnately compound leaves, pea-type flowers, and inflated seed pods characteristic of the genus are typical features of this species. Milkvetches provide forage for native pollinators and serve as larval host plants for several butterfly and moth species. Some Astragalus species accumulate selenium or alkaloids from the soil, making them toxic to livestock, though the toxicological properties of A. coltonii specifically have not been well characterised. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.